Year in Review

2014 was a doozie.

I moved from upstate New York back home to Minnesota—a prescient choice, given the eight feet of snow New York got hammered with this winter. Minnesota is plenty cold, but at least we weren’t at risk of the roof caving in.

Then my partner and I uprooted our home and moved down to Texas. Right from the minute we got here, this seemed like a terrible choice. That was in August, when it was over 100° every damn day. Like, for a month. But now that it’s winter and I’m still riding my motorcycle, I can say I’m pretty happy with the decision. Longer, sunnier days make for a happier, sunnier Steve.

2014 was a good year for publishing too. In September YEAR OF THE DEMON came out in mass-market paperback. (Feel free to order it if you haven’t got it already!) DAUGHTER OF THE SWORD came out in Bulgarian and Italian, and the Italian edition of YEAR OF THE DEMON also came out. THE TIME TRAVELER’S ALMANAC is selling like hot cakes, which means plenty of people out there are reading my story, “The Most Important Thing in the World.”

On the philosophical side of philosofiction, October saw the arrival of PHILOSOPHY AND THE MARTIAL ARTS, with a chapter from Yours Truly. (In it I address the question of whether we martial artists are immoral or merely irrational for voluntarily inflicting so much unnecessary suffering on each other.) I also learned that my co-authored article on Kant, Confucius, and Captain Kirk will be included in the forthcoming STAR TREK AND PHILOSOPHY. Needless to say, I’m very excited about this book.

The biggest news on the writing front is all about the third installation of the Fated Blades, DISCIPLE OF THE WIND. 2014 saw it completed, then recognized as the biggest book yet, then trimmed down to fighting weight, then revised and edited, then copyedited and proofed, and now it’s ready to go. (Preorder now and you can be among the first to get it on April 7!)

There’s also a little surprise coming, courtesy of Kaida. I’ll keep you posted.

What else? I saw the Episode VII trailer and I’m hopeful that JJ Abrams can save the franchise. I saw The Hobbit: Battle of the Three Disappointments and I’m glad that franchise is dead and buried. The best thing I can say about that movie is that as fan fiction goes, it has really expensive special effects. Oh, and Martin Freeman is simply stellar in every scene he’s in, but at this point that almost goes without saying.

Actually, 2014 was a great year for movies all around. My favorites (in no kind of order): The Imitation Game, Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, American Hustle, X-Men: Days of Future Past, 20 Feet from Stardom, Godzilla, and Interstellar, plus the tons-o’-fun Guardians of the Galaxy and The LEGO Movie.

So yeah, big year! Hope yours was a good one too.